Tuesday, April 14, 2015

FACT SHEET: U.S.-Iraq Cooperation

The White House issued the following today after US President Barack Obama met with Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

April 14, 2015

FACT SHEET: U.S.-Iraq Cooperation

The strategic partnership between the United States
and the Republic of Iraq spans a wide-range of sectors, consistent with
the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement. Below is a selection of
key areas of cooperation that demonstrates the expansiveness of this
important bilateral relationship.

Defense and Security: The
United States and Iraq are committed to promoting stability in Iraq and
the region through an enduring partnership that supports our goal to
degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, enhances Iraqi defense
capabilities, re-establishes the security of Iraq’s borders, modernizes
its forces, and supports Iraq’s contributions to regional security.

The United States and Iraq have made progress in the fight to degrade
and ultimately destroy ISIL. In the past eight months, more than 1,900
U.S. and coalition airstrikes have blunted ISIL’s momentum in Iraq and
degraded its military capability. As a result of this coordinated
effort ISIL has lost control of approximately 25 to 30 percent of the
populated areas it had seized in Iraq. Iraqi forces have retaken
critical areas of the country, including the Mosul Dam, Sinjar Mountain,
Diyala, Tikrit, and areas near Kirkuk. In both Iraq and Syria, over
3,200 U.S. and coalition strikes have damaged or destroyed over 5,780
ISIL targets including 75 tanks and 285 Humvees in ISIL control, 1,166
ISIL fighting positions, and 151 oil infrastructure-related targets that
ISIL operated.

Teams of U.S. and coalition personnel are supporting efforts to advise
and assist Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), including Peshmerga forces, in
planning military operations, intelligence sharing, integrating air
support and land operations, managing logistics, command and control of
forces, and communications. These teams are also assisting the Iraqi
government as they train and equip Sunni tribal fighters as recruits
into the Popular Mobilization Forces in Anbar and Ninewa provinces.

Since the fall of 2014, the United States has delivered essential
equipment to Iraq as a critical component of the coalition fight against
ISIL, including: over 100 million rounds of ammunition, 62,000 small
arms systems, 1,700 Hellfire missiles, and six M1A1 tanks. In addition,
the U.S. provided to the Government of Iraq 250 Mine-Resistant Ambush
Protected (MRAP) vehicles in December 2014 and January 2015, 25 of which
were subsequently provided to Kurdish forces in Erbil. The Peshmerga
received 1,000 Anti-Tank Missiles that were delivered through the
Government of Iraq. As of this week, an additional 50 MRAPs with mine
rollers will be on their way to Iraq. In addition to ammunition and
vehicles, the United States has also delivered over 12,000 rifles, body
armor, helmets, and first aid kits – the equivalent of roughly 5-6
brigades’ worth of individual soldier weapons and equipment. The United
States continues to work with the Government of Iraq to deliver their
F-16 fighter aircraft to Iraq, and there are currently 30 Iraqi Air
Force pilots in the training pipeline.

Deliveries and donations from coalition countries have also been
critical to the equipping effort. The coalition has conducted over 70
flights carrying over 5 million pounds of materiel donated by 17
countries, to support the Government of Iraq’s fight against ISIL.

The $1.6-billion Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) has enabled the
United States to provide training and equipment to the ISF, including
Peshmerga troops and tribal volunteers, with strong support from
coalition partners. Four Building Partner Capacity sites have been
established, in Al Asad, Besmayah, Taji, and Erbil - and almost 6,500
ISF, including Peshmerga, have already completed instruction, with more
than 4,900 currently in training. Additional equipment funded by ITEF
has also begun to arrive in Iraq including individual soldier gear and
weapons. Armored vehicles, communications systems, and other equipment
and munitions to support roughly 20,000 Iraqi fighters will follow
shortly.

Foreign Military Financing (FMF)—grants for the acquisition of U.S.
defense equipment, services, and training—will continue to support the
long-term development of ISF capabilities. Since 2013, $771 million in
FMF and more than $2.5 million in International Military Education and
Training has gone towards the development of Iraq’s military. FMF has
supported ISF logistics capacity building, professionalization and
training, platform-specific sustainment, border security, and equipment
to support Iraqi counter terrorism forces.

Political, Diplomatic, and Humanitarian Assistance: The
United States supports Iraq’s efforts to develop an inclusive
government that promotes security, prosperity and human rights for all
Iraqis, and to enhance ties with its regional neighbors.

The United States is providing an additional $205 million in
humanitarian assistance to assist millions of Iraqi civilians – both
refugees in the region and internally displaced persons within the
country – who have been affected by ISIL attacks and previous
instability, providing them with food, shelter, water, medical services,
cash assistance, and other essential goods and services. It will help
displaced persons and refugees obtain legal documentation, strengthen
child protection, and improve management at IDP camps. With this new
funding, the United States has provided more than $407 million in
humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people since the start of fiscal
year 2014.

The United States is working closely with Iraq and coalition members
to help Iraq develop a plan to stabilize areas liberated from
ISIL-control and to identify resources to support Iraqi stabilization
efforts and facilitate their delivery. In March, a team of
stabilization experts from the United States joined experts from the
coalition and the United Nations in a conference with the Government of
Iraq to assess the government’s readiness to address the immediate needs
of liberated areas.

Strengthening Iraq’s federal system is a key plank of Prime Minister
Abadi’s national program, and is a key pillar of the Government of
Iraq’s strategy to improve governance and stabilize the country. The
U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) Service Delivery
Project (Taqadum) supports the Government of Iraq's efforts to
decentralize responsibilities for service delivery from three central
ministries, which serves as a model from which other national ministries
can emulate. We are also committed to supporting inclusive governance
in Iraq and promoting reconciliation. The State Department is targeting
over $17 million in fiscal year 2014 funding for programs which include
activities to address human rights and rule of law as well as
atrocities prevention and accountability issues – key areas for building
reconciliation and contributing to the stabilization of Iraq.

Energy: The United
States and Iraq are committed to the secure, efficient, resilient, and
transparent development of Iraq’s electricity, oil, and gas sectors in
an effort to build a strong economy that is capable of meeting the needs
of the Iraqi people and bringing greater stability to world markets.

The United States and the Government of Iraq, acting pursuant to a
2013 Memorandum of Understanding, have developed a Joint Action Plan to
address energy cooperation and the protection of critical
infrastructure. In April 2015, the United States and Iraq completed the
first phase of the Work Plan for Critical Energy Infrastructure
Protection, which prioritizes strategic projects for U.S. and Iraqi
collaboration in securing Iraq’s energy infrastructure.

The Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program
brought together U.S. and international experts to share their natural
gas contracting expertise with contract specialists in Iraq’s Ministry
of Oil and Ministry of Electricity in March 2014.

Trade & Finance: The
United States and Iraq support the development of a prosperous and
diversified Iraqi economy that is integrated into the global economic
system and also efforts to partner on programs to develop Iraq’s
economy, expand bilateral trade, enhance macroeconomic and fiscal
stability, and protect Iraqi financial institutions from exploitation by
ISIL.

During the inaugural Trade and Investment Framework Agreement meeting
in March 2014, Iraq and the United States addressed trade issues that
would improve the U.S. – Iraq bilateral trade and investment
relationship. Iraq committed to improving its business climate, and the
United States– through a series of ongoing capacity building and
training engagements across Iraq’s relevant Ministries – remains
committed to support these efforts.

U.S. companies remain actively engaged in Iraq. U.S. goods exports to
Iraq increased by approximately 4.2 percent and U.S. imports from Iraq
rose 3 percent from 2013 to 2014. Several U.S. franchises established or
expanded branches in Iraq. The cities of Houston and Basrah have
strengthened their bilateral trade as well as their educational and
cultural exchanges through the existing Basrah – Houston City
Partnership.

In July 2014 the Central Bank of Iraq issued directives to Iraqi
financial institutions within ISIL-held territory to cease financial
activity. The Department of the Treasury continues to engage with the
Central Bank of Iraq to ensure these directives are implemented and
restrict ISIL’s access to the Iraqi and international financial systems.

In response to a request from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, the
United States is planning to provide targeted technical expertise on
public financial management issues pending Congressional approval of
funding. The program will help the Government of Iraq mitigate the
fiscal impacts arising from ISIL’s attacks and a precipitous drop in oil
prices.

The United States and Iraq are eager to spur private sector development in Iraq. USAID's Administrative Reform project (Tarabot)
works with Iraqi ministries to streamline regulations and improve
procurement processes in order to better manage resources and create
business opportunities.

Education and Culture: The
United States and Iraq strongly support a strengthened Iraqi higher
education system, the preservation and promotion of Iraq’s rich cultural
heritage, and expansion of educational, cultural, and professional
exchanges between our nations.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, nearly 1,500 Iraqi students
attended U.S. universities, an increase of 33 percent over the previous
year. The United States continues to work with the Iraqi government to
expand its networks of partner institutions and increase its engagement
with U.S. universities.

Each year approximately 500 Iraqis participate in U.S. government academic, cultural, and professional exchange programs.

From 2010-2014, the Iraq University Linkage Program linked seven U.S.
universities with seven Iraqi universities to develop curricula, train
faculty, improve English language training capacity, and create career
centers to facilitate job placement.

The United States returned to the Government of Iraq numerous items of
cultural heritage that had been removed unlawfully from Iraq and seized
by Department of Homeland Security agents, including the sculptured
head in the style of the Assyrian King Sargon II. U.S. funding in
support of the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and
Heritage (IICAH) has provided technical expertise in a variety of
preservation areas to Iraqi antiquities specialists from throughout the
country.

The United States supported major renovations to the galleries,
storerooms, laboratories, and climate control systems of the Iraq Museum
in Baghdad, which has just reopened to the Iraqi public. Through the
Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, the State Department has
invested nearly $3 million since 2010 in emergency stabilization and
conservation of the Ishtar gate and other major structures and artifacts
in Babylon.

About Me

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